Title: Dazzler

Summary: When Sam becomes associated with the most popular girls in school, it brings romance, drama, secrets and so much more. Is Sam slowly drifting from who she's supposed to be? How can Danny bring her back to him? Does love happen in the midst of hate, or in spite of it? DanxSam, PaulxDash.

Disclaimer: I just own four of the original Dazzlers. If I owned Danny Phantom, this would be a movie or episode or something.

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Rule 1 about being a Dazzler: Always look your best, don't ever let them see you indecent. You never know who might be watching.

Prologue

Samantha Manson

'Dazzler.'

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Samantha Manson was never one to stay calm under dangerous situations, especially if she knew the infonaut possibilities of failure that overwhelmed the situation's percentage of success. It was an easy form to follow, an invisible contract, an automatic right that kept her on her side of the line, like knowing not to touch fire, it came at instinct, you don't touch fire, and you don't cross the line.

But then again, Sam had never been one to follow orders, even from herself, sometimes it was her worst quality, other times she found, it wasn't. Sometimes it saved her butt, sometimes it kicked it, and sometimes it was just a lose-win situation. But now, she knew, looking around, there was no chance of her coming back alive. She felt as cold as the bleachers she was sitting on, her heart beating so loud she was afraid everyone would hear it as well. She was on borderline now, and if she ran out of here, she'd be back on her side, where safety was a given. But then, almost as if her mind was separate from her, she thought of Daniel Fenton, her best friend, and secret crush.

Sam stuck firm, holding herself to the seats, as if allowing herself to relax would undo her whole determination. It was then, she looked down at herself, at her shorts that hugged her hips and showed her white legs, and her small black t-shirt and white pearly tennis shoes that attached themselves to her feet. She looked down at her nails, which were already bitten off, due to nervousness the previous night. "Calm down," She told herself. A small whisper of assurance. "You can do this." She breathed, before allowing herself to look up at the people who were also sitting down.

Paulina was at the top, being circled by a lot of other girls as well. She was wearing a simple sports bra, pink of course, along with black shorts the same as Sam's own. Her long black raven hair was pulled into a ponytail, although it was shorter than last year, she must have cut it over the summer. Paulina Santos was the queen bee of Casper High. She was the goddess that everyone stared at, when she walked across the room; boys fell onto her heels, when she winked, boys fainted and fell onto each other like silly dominos. She had a beat to her, when she walked, you could hear the sighs of boys and the hallway noises, her theme music, as Sam had called it.

The one next to her, was Star Dunchel, known to many as Paulina's little slave. With pretty blonde sunshine hair and enhanced aqua eyes, she was right up there with all the other Dazzlers as far as beauty went. But Star was different because she was one of the very few who still contacted with Valerie Burns, an ex-friend of theirs who could have been a Dazzler if not for her sudden financial and attitude plunge. But Star was linked to Paulina, no one was mean to her without getting an earful from Paulina, which made Star all the more higher on the charts.

The one across from Paulina, smacking her gum and laughing, was Gigi Lee. She was Chinese, with black hair cut short so it grazed her shoulders, her eyes as black as night. She was a dainty thing though, she looked like she could blow away if the wind blew too hard, which made her all the more innocent looking. Gigi was an expert on tracking down rumors, no matter where they came from and who had sworn to secrecy. People trusted her with a lot because she didn't act as vicious when hearing a rumor about herself, or about any one of her fellow Dazzlers. Start a rumor about them and Gigi would have put a stop to it before you could even blink.

Ellie Sennsel was another, with long red hair that went to her waist, and pale freckled skin, she wasn't so high on the hotness scale. But what she was good at, was deadly. She knew everything about everyone, any thought you had, what you ate for dinner, your thoughts you didn't even think yet Ellie knew. You think about insulting her, bam, she just beat you to the punch. You go to say hello and she's already waving her goodbye. Nothing was a secret around Ellie, Sam knew from experience, there was not a thing that Ellie didn't know or in the midst of knowing. She even knew Danny was the ghost kid, but thanks to a special thirty dollar fee every month donated by Sam herself, the secret was kept safe.

The last Dazzler, was Hannah Spananza. She had shoulder length sandy brown hair, the tallest one in the group, the muscle. She was an all time sports champion at everything she did. Running, she beat the times, soccer, she scored every goal, arm wrestling, no one could beat her except Dash Baxter. She was very pretty as well, but she was no little flower, and she had no problem reminding anyone who treated her like one. She was also the least emotional of the group, dumping boyfriends as soon as she was annoyed. If any girl felt the need to challenge the Dazzlers, Hannah would always give them a token of their affection. For Shelby Fen, it was a broken arm. Sam swallowed, because Hannah was also one to express her curiosity, any minute now, she'd nudge them and all attention would be at her.

Five girls, five talents, five ways to die. Sam watched as Gigi looked at her, black eyes drilling a hole in her. Sam felt uncomfortable, but didn't back down, watching as Gigi pouted her lips at her. "P.E. class is in the other gym, you know." She said, pointing over to the exit. To the Dazzlers and many others of the popular people, P.E. was for the kids who weren't good enough to be in athletics, for fatsos who couldn't do anything but stuff their face. And in that, they were partly right.

"I know," Sam said her voice on edge. It wasn't like last year, where, if you insulted one of them, you'd deal with one of them. Mess with one, and the whole group's gonna come out swinging. "I'm here for cheerleading." She swallowed, hating to admit it, as if it were something to be ashamed of. Which it was, to her. She was a Goth, and she was going out for cheerleading! She just crossed the line, big.

She watched as Paulina, Gigi, Ellie, Star, and Hannah exchanged glances. Paulina gave a small laugh. "You?" She asked, and then looked at Sam's serious face, before falling silent. Paulina coughed, before looking straight at her, and wagging her finger, a small demand. Sam rolled her eyes before standing, and walking over to where they were. Sam sat down, watching Paulina sigh. "What's this all about Sam?" She asked, saying their name like they were old friends. "What is it exactly that you're planning?"

Sam looked at her, confused. "Plan?" She squeaked, watching Paulina smirk.

"Are you just trying cheerleading so you can make the squad, then do some crap about how stupid it is or whatever?" She asked, and Sam was shocked about how she was speaking to her. It wasn't: You're such a loser. It was more like: What are you up to? Sam shook her head, although, looking at it, it wasn't such a bad idea. Too bad it was too late, and she was already sinking in deep.

Ellie smacked her gum, her eyes full of knowing. "It's because she wants to impress Danny Fenton." She said casually, as the rest of them immediately looked at her, as Sam felt her face flame. True, she'd thought of the best way to be noticed by her crush, but she'd only thought of that after her mother sent her form into the coaches. Leaving no room for rebellion, her mother had finally gotten her after all these years. Sam looked at all their faces.

"Yeah," She decided, before attempting a smile, it didn't work. "Exactly." She said, as Gigi awed, saying how cute it was that she was willing to change for him. Paulina's smile got wider, as she looked at the rest of the Dazzlers, who each had a look in their eyes.

"You know how to do a back hand spring?" Paulina asked, and they inched closer, and it made Sam feel cornered. She swallowed, but still keeping the emotionless look on her face. She shook her head, but Paulina continued. "You know how to climb a pyramid? Can you catch a girl after she does a front flip with a half twist? Can you do the splits?"

After each question, Sam would shake her head, until finally Paulina sighed. She whispered something to Hannah, as Hannah looked at her and nodded seriously. Sam tried not to look interested, but inside her mind was reeling with what they could be saying. She's not one of us. She's such a loser. Once an outcast, always an outcast. The possibilities were endless. So when Hannah spoke, it took her by complete shock.

"Come on." She said, before getting up and going down the bleachers, Sam looked at her before getting up and following her. The rest of the gym was quiet, none of the other girls said a word. Hannah stopped Sam, before holding up a finger. "Lesson number one," She started, as Sam watched her speak. "A round off." Sam didn't have time to ask before she stuck out her arms, and falling sideways, before bouncing off her arms and landing solidly on both feet. Overall, it looked like a cartwheel, but you gathered your feet together.

She flipped her hair, before looking at Sam. "Go ahead." She demanded, and moved away, giving Sam enough room. Sam looked around, at all the girls watching her, before breathing deep, and starting out the same way Hannah did. She started out fine, until she was upside down, and she felt her arms wobble and fall underneath her. She fell on her head, before lying sprawled on the gym floor. She expected the whole gym to erupt in laughter, but to her surprise, no one said a word, some had even gone back to talking to their friends. Hannah helped her up, and she was surprised at the nice gesture.

"Your arms are a little weak right now," She said, lifting up her own muscled arms to demonstrate. Sam looked at her own, wondering how strong you had to be to be able to do a simple round off, because there was no way the Dazzlers were stronger than her, they were far more feminine. She agreed, while listening to Hannah. "Try it again, your arms will be more prepared." Sam sighed in frustration before deciding it was best to listen and learn, especially if she was going to survive this.

She tried it again, half expecting her arms to fail her again. But no, they swung her like they were supposed to, and she remembered the turn slightly to land on both feet. She heard a loud pop, before she realized, she was staring at Hannah, her feet on solid ground. She watched Hannah's slow smile, and she clapped a few times. Sam smiled down at herself, half proud she was able to do it. Hannah approached her again. "Again." She said, and watched Sam do it several more times. Each time she got better until Sam didn't even blink to perform it.

Hannah lifted her hand to her chin, as if deep in thought. Sam stood there, slightly panting, feeling like she was being inspected, trying to stand up as straight as she could. "You know," She started, before smiling wider. "Maybe you have a place among us after all."

Sam blinked, quite shocked, almost heart shockingly surprised. A place among them? She watched as Hannah looked at her more, figuring her flaws and perfections, she guessed. "Excuse me?" She breathed, and Hannah ran a hand through her hair. She took off the red ribbon on her wrist, before tossing it to Sam, who caught it. She looked at it, before looking back up at Hannah.

"You could be really pretty," Complimented Hannah, as Sam felt her face heat up. Hannah leaned in closer, and she whispered so low Sam had to strain to hear. "Your mom is our number one sponsor, she told us you'd be coming today. All I can say is, if you even want to make the Junior Varsity team, you're gonna need our help. We owe your mom, so we're gonna be the ones to help you."

Sam was baffled, but half hurt. "Help?" She asked, her tone half angry, half curious. Hannah nodded, before adjusting the ribbon perched beautifully on her head. Sam watched as Hannah flipped back, landing on her hands and propelling herself back on her feet. She returned back to Sam, looking serious.

"Being a cheerleader isn't all fun and games," She spoke lowly, as if she had been offended. Her eyes were half on fire with determination and dream, making Sam half sorry she'd said those things all those years ago. "Contrary to what everyone else who watches us from the stands thinks, it's hard work. We have to look good on and off the field, we have to make sure we eat at least two hours a day or we could get cut from the team. But it's not all about what happens in the gym, what makes a true Dazzler is what happens off the court. What we do when no one's looking." She finished, before glancing around, checking for people who might be listening.

Hannah breathed a bit, before starting again. "Look, you're gonna start hanging out with us okay? We want you to be one of us, trust me, everyone who knows your mother wants it too." Before Sam could protest, Hannah was off again. "And listen, we don't hear any crap about individuality or whatever. We're here to teach you, which means you shut up and listen, got it?"

Sam huffed, deeply offended. Forgetting their powers over her, she dared to speak up. "Sorry, maybe I don't want to be part of a five-headed jackass." She whispered harshly, and Hannah didn't even blink, which made Sam step back a bit. She smiled dangerously, telling Sam that this didn't need to take place in compromise to her will. She looked at her red dazzling fingernails, before looking back at her.

"Oh? I thought you wanted to impress Danny Fenton…" She trailed off, her eyes clouded in thought, thankfully not noticing Sam's hands were shaking. "Imagine, you, walking with the rest of us, perfectly formed. Danny, as well as the rest of the boys in Casper High, worshiping the ground you walk on." She stopped, watching Sam's reaction. Actually, Sam thought in spite of herself, that sounded amazing, like a dream. She tried to imagine Danny coming to her, drooling like he did over so many other girls, admitting how wrong he was for denying his true feelings for her. It made Sam smile.

She looked at Hannah, half hating the words that were coming out of her mouth. "You'll help me get Danny to notice me?" She asked, watching as Hannah nodded, before pulling out lipstick as pink as a salmon. She smacked her lips before applying the color, and signaling a thumbs up to the rest of the Dazzlers, who smiled and got up to make their way over to her.

"Trust me," Hannah told her, and Sam felt her heart lift with hope at her words. "We'll help get everyone to notice you."

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First chapter is done! Yeah, I'm so excited, I can't wait to hear what people think so far. Please read and review! I would really appreciate it. This IS a danny and sam story, I promise.